Coronavirus

[Sith Happens]

33 minutes ago, Archied said:

Don’t know ,, my admittedly very simple understanding of vaccines was that they built an immunity in you by exposing you to a very weakened amount of the virus/ disease that wasn’t dangerous so it’s kind of hard to get my head around why/ if having survived the virus or having been vaccinated would have too much of a difference in terms of immunity going forward except perhaps timescale of immunity ??‍♂️

According to this expert then yes have the vaccine even if you already tested positive.

“It is impossible, logistically, to test everyone for antibodies, and measure the precise concentration and function of these antibodies, in order to decide whether they would benefit from vaccination or not,” she adds. “It is simply easier, quicker, cheaper and much less risky for everyone to have the vaccine, whether or not they have had – or think they have had – the infection before.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/will-people-who-had-covid-need-to-have-the-vaccine_uk_5fca3c8cc5b619bc4c325f54?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFzhGwNWgE-PPPEw_UAbnrE5Hti_N6lJ9esJLLk7aOgGWkkstcaUIl1rOpia1h9cdoRgkYaCVXh-5Goi5S-a02lMtPXSttr6HzrhfT7pxnLFuyqnX9WmlWA1wSZDIwk2vAUA5tuuscOaQNmS0MnXiu8xD0gKuh4V-ZD3wvDvrdUZ

[sage]

Its been reported that the EU has approved the vaccine and vaccinations started being given out yesterday.

However this must be a lie because someone on here said they had to wait till October for France's vaccine.

[Sith Happens]

20 minutes ago, sage said:

Its been reported that the EU has approved the vaccine and vaccinations started being given out yesterday.

However this must be a lie because someone on here said they had to wait till October for France's vaccine.

I've never read that said here. 

[DazaDunn]

2 hours ago, Tamworthram said:

The only point I’d challenge is that in bold. You don’t actually know that we’re a lot worse off for it. Things could have been a whole lot worse if they hadn’t spent it. That would have meant either no lockdown or no furlough/other support schemes. We obviously don’t know what difference the former would have made but I’m pretty sure there would have a whole lot more financial misery without the latter.

By lot worse off, I mean when we went into lockdown it was to kill the virus and stop transmission. We went into lockdown with between 3-6K of cases a day, we’ve spent 280B, lost 9 months of our lives and now we’re at 30/40k of new cases a day. 
 

I get they’ve had to spend some of it, I guess I was just expecting to see a more positive ROI.

[Tamworthram]

1 hour ago, DazaDunn said:

By lot worse off, I mean when we went into lockdown it was to kill the virus and stop transmission. We went into lockdown with between 3-6K of cases a day, we’ve spent 280B, lost 9 months of our lives and now we’re at 30/40k of new cases a day. 
 

I get they’ve had to spend some of it, I guess I was just expecting to see a more positive ROI.

I understand your point but, what I’m trying to say is the ROI is what we’ve perhaps avoided by spending the money.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Sith Happens said:

I've never read that said here. 

Me neither 

[Tamworthram]

3 hours ago, Archied said:

Serious question ,,, do people who have tested positive need to be vaccinated? and if the answer is yes don’t they logically go to the bottom of the list of those prioritised as they have a level of immunity for a time ?

A question that has crossed my mind.

My 88 year old mum, by some miracle, seems OK now after being tested positive for Covid more than a month ago but she was still given the vaccine about ten days ago. Whereas, my 91 year old dad hasn’t had it yet. Mind you, I think that may have been down to a mix up at the hospital because when she turned up for her jab they didn’t realise that she’d been tested positive previously. I think it was only because my rather forceful sister was there that they gave it to her.

[Guest]

So the newspapers this morning seem to say that lockdown restrictions will be lifted once 15m vulnerable people have been vaccinated, and that if the AZ/Oxford vaccine is given the go ahead this week, this could be achieved by the end of February. 

If this is true and is the plan, the Government need to get this said as soon as possible. 

I think with a tangible end in sight, the general public will be much more compliant, especially if it is going to be for 8 or 9 more weeks.

Personally, I would support one final full lockdown if there was the guarantee that this is the end game.

[ketteringram]

7 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

So the newspapers this morning seem to say that lockdown restrictions will be lifted once 15m vulnerable people have been vaccinated, and that if the AZ/Oxford vaccine is given the go ahead this week, this could be achieved by the end of February. 

If this is true and is the plan, the Government need to get this said as soon as possible. 

I think with a tangible end in sight, the general public will be much more compliant, especially if it is going to be for 8 or 9 more weeks.

Personally, I would support one final full lockdown if there was the guarantee that this is the end game.

Kind of dependent on whether or not the vaccine actually works, and how long it works for.

I guess they won't know that until vaccinated people start getting infected.

[RamNut]

5 hours ago, Tamworthram said:

A question that has crossed my mind.

My 88 year old mum, by some miracle, seems OK now after being tested positive for Covid more than a month ago but she was still given the vaccine about ten days ago. Whereas, my 91 year old dad hasn’t had it yet. Mind you, I think that may have been down to a mix up at the hospital because when she turned up for her jab they didn’t realise that she’d been tested positive previously. I think it was only because my rather forceful sister was there that they gave it to her.

This raises a number of questions.

not least - is your sister fit?

[BIllyD]

8 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

So the newspapers this morning seem to say that lockdown restrictions will be lifted once 15m vulnerable people have been vaccinated, and that if the AZ/Oxford vaccine is given the go ahead this week, this could be achieved by the end of February. 

If this is true and is the plan, the Government need to get this said as soon as possible. 

I think with a tangible end in sight, the general public will be much more compliant, especially if it is going to be for 8 or 9 more weeks.

Personally, I would support one final full lockdown if there was the guarantee that this is the end game.

Reported on the times, which seems to have some links to government so pretty reliable based on previous stories.

The main sticking points will of course be ensuring we have 30 million doses and also it can be delivered at over 3 million per week. Maybe this is why the nightingale hospitals haven't been used as yet, would make sense to turn these into a vaccination centre. Good news is that the EU have not asked for approval for this vaccine either, means anything made to date will hopefully sent to us.

It is also potentially a game changer due to cost.

[BIllyD]

9 minutes ago, ketteringram said:

Kind of dependent on whether or not the vaccine actually works, and how long it works for.

I guess they won't know that until vaccinated people start getting infected.

The vaccine works, that has already been determined.

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, ketteringram said:

Kind of dependent on whether or not the vaccine actually works, and how long it works for.

I guess they won't know that until vaccinated people start getting infected.

I thought the results were pretty conclusive on whether the vaccine worked or not?

How long it works for shouldnt be too much of an issue as surely it will be mass produced once approved?

Well lets be honest, if these 2 vaccines dont work we are pretty much screwed anyway.

[ketteringram]

18 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

I thought the results were pretty conclusive on whether the vaccine worked or not?

How long it works for shouldnt be too much of an issue as surely it will be mass produced once approved?

Well lets be honest, if these 2 vaccines dont work we are pretty much screwed anyway.

As in. All the vulnerable vaccinated. You're talking about restrictions being lifted. Presume that would mean the virus spreads even faster through the non vaccinated. Ok, heading towards spring and summer, so should slow a bit. 

But if everyone is then mixing, I assume that sooner or later , the vaccinated ones will start to get infected again.

[Sith Happens]

51 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

 

Personally, I would support one final full lockdown if there was the guarantee that this is the end game.

I have felt January is as good a time as any. It's a poo month anyway. 

[Sith Happens]

27 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

I thought the results were pretty conclusive on whether the vaccine worked or not?

How long it works for shouldnt be too much of an issue as surely it will be mass produced once approved?

Well lets be honest, if these 2 vaccines dont work we are pretty much screwed anyway.

I'm sure it's already anticipated that people will need to be seasonally vaccinated like flu. 

 

[Sith Happens]

I don't think this will ever be eradicated. I think like flu this will require a vaccine each year. 

As with flu sadly I think there could be many annual deaths because people had the vaccine but it didn't work for them as an individual, or some people in the not at risk groups gets the virus and died.

I'm sure that is the same with flu.

 

[Tamworthram]

1 hour ago, G STAR RAM said:

So the newspapers this morning seem to say that lockdown restrictions will be lifted once 15m vulnerable people have been vaccinated, and that if the AZ/Oxford vaccine is given the go ahead this week, this could be achieved by the end of February. 

If this is true and is the plan, the Government need to get this said as soon as possible. 

I think with a tangible end in sight, the general public will be much more compliant, especially if it is going to be for 8 or 9 more weeks.

Personally, I would support one final full lockdown if there was the guarantee that this is the end game.

It would be a good news story but I don't think it would be wise for the government to commit to anything specific. It annoys me when the reporters ask questions like "can you guarantee.....?" 

The best they should do is perhaps indicate this as an aspiration but say it is dependent on other measures/indicators. 

[alexxxxx]

2 hours ago, G STAR RAM said:

So the newspapers this morning seem to say that lockdown restrictions will be lifted once 15m vulnerable people have been vaccinated, and that if the AZ/Oxford vaccine is given the go ahead this week, this could be achieved by the end of February. 

If this is true and is the plan, the Government need to get this said as soon as possible. 

I think with a tangible end in sight, the general public will be much more compliant, especially if it is going to be for 8 or 9 more weeks.

Personally, I would support one final full lockdown if there was the guarantee that this is the end game.

I just worry that the gov will move the goalposts. I foresee a scenario where we start having many fewer deaths, more normal situation in hospitals, but thousands and thousands testing positive per week. 

This'll coincide with more data on medium/long term impacts and then they'll go for near elimination.. 

[Albert]

2 hours ago, Sith Happens said:

I don't think this will ever be eradicated. I think like flu this will require a vaccine each year. 

As with flu sadly I think there could be many annual deaths because people had the vaccine but it didn't work for them as an individual, or some people in the not at risk groups gets the virus and died.

I'm sure that is the same with flu.

 

The flu isn't a single virus, it's a family of them, and the vaccines for them are usually a lot less effective. 

It's a lot easier to eradicate single viruses than it is to eradicate whole families of them. Countries completely bottling the handling, like the UK, don't help though, as the more people that have a disease, the more chances there are for significant mutations, which leads to one virus becoming a group of them. 

If this virus does become endemic though, the long term consequences would be profound. Regions which have successfully controlled it, or close to it, will likely form travel bubbles between themselves, and will likely keep quarantine requirements up for a long time. Given they are the countries that are recovering the fastest, that will have some impacts on the countries where things have been allowed to spiral out of control. The biggest concern is of course that it will have long term impacts on life expectancy, particularly given the developing research on long term impacts of the disease. 

Honestly though, at this point the data, and success of strategies from countries that had clear plans, suggests that this virus can indeed be eradicated. A vaccine program, done right, can be as good, or better, than a well executed public health response. The big issue will be supporting nations that don't have the means to achieve that though.